


Nothing Out Of The Norm

by Essence_of_Silence



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Ash and Gary are in their early 20s, Fluff, Gary has a rescued skitty, M/M, Palletshipping, Slice of Life, adult!palletshipping, and forgot to tell Gramps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23396866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Essence_of_Silence/pseuds/Essence_of_Silence
Summary: "Since when do you have a skitty?"A visit to Pallet reveals that Gary’s neglected to mention a few things to his grandfather…
Relationships: Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak & Ookido Yukinari-hakase | Professor Samuel Oak, Ookido Shigeru | Gary Oak/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Comments: 10
Kudos: 264





	Nothing Out Of The Norm

**Author's Note:**

> Just a sweet drabble that took entirely too long to write.

**Nothing Out Of The Norm**

Samuel Oak stopped rather suddenly in the doorway of the kitchen and blinked at the unusual scene before him. Not the umbreon waiting obediently at the back door, nor the venomoth hovering next to the table as it nibbled at a plate of chopped strawberries. Those were common enough… 

The skitty on the counter lapping from a bowl of milk however…

“Um... What is this?” he asked the young man following him.

Gary, utterly unfazed, didn’t so much as glance up from the tablet he was reading from. “It’s a skitty.”

“Why?” He stepped aside for Gary to make his automatic path to the coffee maker but continued to stare at the tiny pink pokemon that had randomly appeared in his kitchen this morning.

“You have a half dozen pokemon in your house at any given time, ‘why’ what?”

The younger researcher set the tablet on the counter and set about preparing his coffee. Meanwhile, the pudgy pink feline trilled and sauntered over to him. Sam watched as his usually serious grandson smiled and scratched the pokemon behind its perky ears. The skitty closed its eyes and butted its head against Gary’s hand, purring loudly.

As though absolutely nothing were out of the ordinary.

“Yes, but those pokemon belong to my assistant and grandson.”

Gary shot him a bemused look, finally turning to properly look at the older man for perhaps the first time all morning. “Gramps. She’s my skittty.”

This was met with stunned silence.“Since when do you have a skitty?” 

“A few months now.” Gary frowned as he leaned back against the counter. “She got ditched at the Sinnoh lab, remember?”

Recognition flashed in the professor’s eyes and Gary shook his head amusedly. “Is this that same skitty?” 

He had seen a picture when it happened, but this pokemon looked nothing like that photo. What was once a battered and sickly little creature was now plump with the sleek fur and bright eyes Sam easily associated with the pokemon under his grandson’s care. “I didn’t realize you had taken her in.”

There was a brief pause. “Huh, maybe I didn’t tell you…? It was supposed to be temporary -”

“But you were paying such close attention to her progress that you couldn’t help but get attached.” 

Gary gave a small laugh and a careless shrug at the interruption. “It’s been known to happen.”

“Several times. I seem to recall an injured nidoran making an incredible recovery, somehow  _ evolving _ into a nidorino, even though its caregiver didn’t even have his pokemon training license yet.”

“Believe me, I was as shocked as you were.” 

“I’m sure you were.” Sam’s eyes narrowed at his grandson’s unabashed grin, but he couldn’t hold it for long and soon gave in to his own burgeoning smile. “Are you going to train her?”

“No.” Gary’s reply came with barely a second for thought. “She’s pretty traumatized, I wouldn’t even consider it…” He gave a short laugh after a moment. “Would be a hell of a wild card though, wouldn’t it? All of these big animals and then this little furball.”

Umbreon gave an unimpressed huff from her position near the door and haughtily licked at a paw when Gary responded with an amused smile. 

“Aww, Bre, c’mon. You’re still my best girl.”

The dark type stood and stretched languidly before stepping towards her trainer. She gave a happy sort of whine as she leaned her head against Gary’s thigh. Skitty’s fur stood on end, her tail flicking nervously as she peered down at the canid.

“You’re fine,” Gary murmured, placating her with a gentle pat.

The professor chuckled, both at the scene and his grandson’s comment. “All trainers have their wild card,” he said wisely. “Just look at Ash and Pikachu.”

“No, Gramps,  _ Ash _ is the wild card in that scenario!” Gary laughed. “Who else melts a battlefield?”

“Is he complaining about  _ that _ again?” 

Gary grinned at Ash’s appearance in the doorway, clad in the same jeans as the day before and a rumpled t-shirt, hair mused from sleep. “I was actually complimenting your wildcard genius,” the researcher replied primly. 

Pikachu darted in behind him, chirping happily as he hopped up on the table next to Tracey’s venomoth. He waved a pudgy paw at the professor and squeaked a greeting.

“Uh-huh, sure you were. Mornin’, Professor.” Ash’s arm wrapped about Gary’s shoulders briefly, his other hand reaching down to scratch Umbreon behind her long ears.

“Good morning, Ash.” The elder professor lifted a hand in greeting, watching curiously as Gary leaned into the embrace, seeming to savor the affection for a moment before passing the trainer his coffee mug. 

Ash took a sip with a thankful smile before passing it back so that he could greet Skitty, who was wandering in circles on the counter with wavering cries for attention.

All as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

“You seen my hat anywhere?” Ash absently asked Gary as he gave the little cat a thorough rubdown.

“No…” Gary replied, shaking his head. “Maybe check the front hall… it  _ was _ the first thing off.”

Cheeks pink, Ash blinked at him.

Gary merely grinned devilishly as he took a drink from his coffee mug.

Sam cleared his throat. “I didn’t know you spent the night, Ash.” He frowned in Gary’s direction.

“We were training late,” Gary explained innocently, still utterly unfazed. 

“Oh, is that what they’re calling it these days?”

Gary’s easy smirk faltered for a moment, his cheeks darkening subtly. Ash let out a crow of laughter but quickly fell silent when Gary’s elbow dug into his side. 

“How about you go find your hat?” 

Still grinning, Ash raised his hands placatingly before leaving the room. Pikachu squeaked and scampered after him, Skitty quickly following. 

“How long has this been going on then?” For the first time in a long while, the professor saw Gary’s gaze drop away hesitantly.

“A few months now… Wanted to - well,  _ meant  _ to tell you, but… I dunno. I guess everything kinda happened at once and it just fell through the cracks.” Gary shrugged his shoulders and absently fidgeted with the tablet on the counter.

“That’s also been known to happen on occasion.” The words were mild, but Gary still flinched slightly at them. The professor smiled. “Of course, you’ve been so busy lately, I’m surprised you’ve even found time for romance. I certainly hope you’re planning on a vacation before your next endeavor.”

Gary shrugged his shoulders again but a faint smile tugged at his lips. “Training with Ash is close enough to a vacation.” 

The elder professor observed him for a moment, noting the way that smile so easily reached his grandson’s eyes. Sam couldn’t help but smile in turn. Gary being secretive or just so busy that he forgot to tell him things was nothing new and certainly nothing out of the norm. 

But that smile was. 

That smile was as new to Sam as the pink feline he had found on his kitchen counter only moments earlier. These changes, however, were entirely welcome.

Still, he couldn’t help but prod a bit. “Perhaps we could stop hiding things?” His tone still as mild and kind as ever, though laced with just a touch of teasing.

Gary grinned at that. “Hey, in my defense, we never actually  _ hid  _ it. We just never  _ told _ anyone.”

“That’s…” Sam paused in the middle of what was to be a mild, teasing scold. He sighed softly as realization struck him. “That’s not inaccurate,” he ceded, nodding his acceptance of the argument.

A distant whoop could be heard from somewhere near the front door. 

“Found it!” Ash’s voice was joined by an excited chirp from Pikachu and a trill from Skitty.

The faint smile quirked Gary’s lips once more and, once again, Sam couldn’t help but smile as well as Ash returned to the room with the two pokemon following closely, his familiar hat once again atop his messy hair. The trainer returned to Gary’s side and scooped up the researcher’s coffee mug for another sip as Skitty hopped back up on the counter and Pikachu joined Umbreon near the door. 

Ash wound an arm around Gary’s waist and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thanks,” the trainer said softly. 

Gary merely grinned and flicked the brim of the hat, sending it tumbling off of Ash’s head, though the trainer caught it before it hit the floor. As if it had been expected.

All as though nothing was remotely unusual.

And, apparently, it was nothing out of the norm for the young couple and their pokemon. Perhaps seeing it was a new norm for Sam but, he supposed, perhaps there was nothing wrong with a new normal. 


End file.
